Critical violations of state sanitation and safety laws observed by inspectors at five South Florida restaurants last week prompted the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation to cite the owners and briefly suspend their operations.

The Crime & Safety blog reports on inspections of South Florida dining spots each week as the state pursues its goal to review Florida’s 45,000 licensed restaurants twice each year.

Vocelli Pizza, 4618 N. University Drive, Coral Springs had its operations briefly suspended March 27 after 9 critical violations were observed by a state health and safety inspector. The violations included: More than 20 live flies in the kitchen/storage room; 22 fresh rodent droppings were observed in a storage room, under a kitchen sink, under a storage rack where clean utensils are stored, on a hot water heater and behind a hot water heater; two bags of cheese stored on the floor of a walk-in cooler; dead or trapped flies were accumulated in control devices than hung in a prep area; Raid flying insect spray was stored under a prep table and the insecticide was not in compliance with regulations; the rear door could not be properly sealed when the establishment was not in operation; a hand wash sink was used for other purposes; encrusted material was on a can opener and there was a lack of use of a chemical test kit when using sanitizer at a three-compartment sink/ware washing machine.

The restaurant was allowed to re-open March 28.

On April 4, the restaurant’s general manager, Jerome Pace, called back to say the problems happened because of a ceiling shared with a vacant business next door, and in a storage unit filled with equipment.

“Regarding the flies, there is a vacant unit right next to us,” Pace said. “He has rodent traps in the ceiling. The flies came from the dead rodents in the ceiling (which is common to both businesses). The pest control guy didn’t have a ladder tall enough to go up into the ceiling and the inspector came by an hour later.”

Regarding the rodent droppings, Pace said, “The rodent droppings were in a closed, locked storage room where we keep equipment that is not actively used. We were closed four hours and we got pest control to come back the same day. He took care of the problems with the flies and dead rodents and we prepared to reopen. It was ready and as it should be when the inspector returned the following morning. ”

Clive’s Café, 5890 N.W. 2nd Avenue, Miami had its operations briefly suspended March 28 after 7 critical violations were observed by a state health and safety inspector. The violations included: Outer openings of the establishment could not be properly sealed when not in operation (cooking with smoker outside in back of restaurant); the hand wash sink lacked an employee sign; proper drying provisions and cleanser; bare hand contact of lettuce by employees was observed and the establishment had no alternative operating procedure in effect; the business was operating without a current health and restaurant license and more than 15 live roaches were found in the kitchen, above the hand wash sink and behind a wall poster.

During a March 30 follow-up inspection, no evidence of vermin was observed and the restaurant was allowed to re-open, with zero violations. The owner declined to comment.

Micocos (El Buen) Café, 2100 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Coral Gables was closed March 27 for operating without a license, lacking a hand sink and three-compartment sink. Also, an inspector found potentially hazardous cold food was being held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit; potentially hazardous hot food was not being held at 135 degrees Fahrenheit or above; an employee was observed preparing food, handling clean equipment or utensils or touching unwrapped single-service items without washing hands; the manager lacked food manager certification and an employee wore jewelry other than a plain ring while preparing food; no thermometer was provided to measure food product.

The business was ordered closed for operation until conditions for licensure were met and had not yet been approved to reopen on April 3, a state spokeswoman said. No one answered the phone number that was provided to the state.

Presidential Café, 4000 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood was briefly closed March 27 after an inspector observed 16 critical health and safety violations. Those violations include 36 live roaches and more than 100 dead roaches found on the premises, along with 8 rodent droppings; and rice and sugar on the cook line were removed from original containers and not identified by common name. A state DBPR spokeswoman said as of April 2, the department had been unable to complete a follow-up inspection because the establishment was closed each time they visited. There was no answer April 3 at a phone number given to the state.

Taste of India, 7750 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach was briefly closed March 28 after an inspector observed 16 critical violations that included a toxic item, “fogger” stored by food; working containers of food removed from original containers and not identified by common names or unlabeled; the bar hand wash sink lacked drying provisions; there was no cleanser at a sink by the dish machine; a rear screen door was in poor repair; an open beverage container was near clean utensils on the dishwasher; raw chicken was stored over raw vegetables in a walk-in cooler; 2 live roaches were on kitchen shelves; 12 dead roaches were in light shields; 12 fresh rodent droppings were found on top of a dish machine; food was stored on the floor of a cooler and freezer; a self-service salad bar/buffet lacked adequate sneeze guards or other proper protection from contamination and a cutting board on top of a hand wash sink blocked employee access.

After a pest control report, the inspector allowed the business to re-open March 29.

“We cleaned everything and were permitted to open,” said Taste of India Manager Sunil Kayalchirayil. “We were only closed a half-day.”

You can check out a restaurant on our searchable databases that have information provided by the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation.

For restaurants between Palm Beach County and Key West, bookmark this link:

A state spokeswoman has said it is not the number of critical violations that will cause a restaurant to be temporarily shut down, but rather the nature of what an inspector finds that merits closing a business.

After a restaurant is shuttered, an inspector typically visits again within 24 hours and continues to visit until violations are resolved and the business can reopen. Repeat critical violations can lead to fines of $500 to $1,000 per instance in a future administrative complaint levied by the state.

If a bad dining experience makes you feel ill, it’s easy to complain to the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation by calling 850-487-1395 or by filing a report online at MyFloridaLicense.com.

But beware: this isn’t the place for personal vendettas. False reports can lead to misdemeanor charges.

Comments (15 Comments)

Stay away from these small time places. They always cut corners and have major issues. As someone who has spent his life working in many restaurants I would advise people to stick to the big name chain places. They have procedures and protocol that must be followed. They are inspected quarterly by the corporate office execs and the places had better be in tip top shape or heads do roll. God help the managers if any bugs are ever found.

The truth of it is that balanced cooking techniques need to satisfy only THREE basic and simple requirements the food you eat should not have excess amount of fat and sodium i.e. should not be full of calories, it should retain its nutrients i.e. it should not be empty calories and more importantly, it should taste good.
Nice Post, Awesome to find another Food lover

Linda Trischitta reports on breaking news and authors the Crime & Safety Blog for The Sun Sentinel, where since 2007 she has written about cities and the people who live in them. Her work has also appeared in The Times Union [Albany, NY]; PEOPLE Magazine and Reader’s Digest.